WELLSBORO — A local business may have a solution using forest waste to produce locally produced vehicle fuel.
Luca Pandolfi, founder of Woodland Biomass Innovations, which has developed a process to convert low-quality woody biomass, known as waste wood, into gasoline, plans to build its first facility in Tioga County, outside Wellsboro.
Pandolfi spoke to the Wellsboro Rotary Club about the project, which was recently named a finalist in the 2024 Pennsylvania Wild Big Ideas competition.
Woodland Biomass uses existing technology to convert woody biomass into 87 octane gasoline that is chemically identical to petroleum-based gasoline, and more importantly, keeps local money circulating locally rather than going to refineries or extractors.
The initial facility will create 50 to 100 jobs and is designed to be replicable anywhere.
The good news? Customers might be able to save a few cents at the gas pump.
“Our gas prices are tied to biomass prices, and gas price increases are tied to inflation,” Pandolfi said. “We'd like to get it a little bit cheaper than what gas prices are today, about 5 to 10 cents a gallon cheaper.”
Woodland Biomass uses approximately 250,000 tons or more of low-grade woody biomass, which is subjected to high temperatures, pressures and an oxygen-depleted atmosphere to produce synthetic natural gas, which is then converted into liquids.
The remaining material, biochar, is pure carbon and can be used as a soil conditioner, animal feed supplement, chicken litter, to replace coke in steel production, and to prevent pollutant runoff.
The process produces more energy than is needed to make gasoline, and because it is produced locally, transportation costs to the gas station are lower.
We are also addressing the issue of forest aging.
“The average age of trees in Pennsylvania is 75 years old, and they're all going to die at about the same time,” Pandolfi said. “We're going to be left with a lot of dead trees and we're not going to have space to plant new trees. We need to start removing them before they start dying.”
Unfortunately, it is too late to take advantage of ash trees killed by ash pests: this process will allow about one-third of the dead wood in the forest to naturally decompose and be used as nutrients for new growth.
The first plant will produce 42,000 gallons of fuel per day, about 2 percent of Pennsylvania's total gasoline production, enough to supply 40,000 homes for a year, Pandolfi said. There are about 17,000 in Tioga County.
Woody biomass is not the only biomass that can be converted into fuel: the concept can also be used to recycle agricultural residues, animal waste, sewage, vegetable oils, animal fats and garbage.
The project is still a long way off, taking two to three years if Pandolfi can secure funding if necessary. As a Big Ideas finalist, Woodland Biomass is competing for a prize of up to $50,000. Pandolfi is also using WeFunder, which allows local shareholders to back the project with as little as $100.
The first of three phases is complete, and Pandolfi is seeking to raise $2.5 million for engineering. Once that phase is complete, he will aim to obtain grants and other funding to build the third phase of the plant, which would cost $250 million.
To learn more or join the webinar, scan the QR code or visit www.woodlandbio.com/learn.
